Working with young people through NCS to Abate the Hate

Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Service has been working with young people taking part in a National Citizen Service project to tackle prejudice in Boston.

Dubbed the Brexit capital of the world. Boston has long had issues with cultural divides – a problem that the 11 young people taking part in NCS have set about tackling with their Abate the Hate campaign.

As of 2017, an estimated 30 per cent of Boston’s 68,000 residents were foreign born and have chosen this historic town to be their home, living and working in our community.

With them comes rich diversity, bringing culture, religion, and foods. As a nation, there is often a divide between people of different nationalities; Boston, in particular, has found integration hard, with many holding unfounded stereotypes against those born outside the UK.

As part of the ‘Abate the Hate’ project, NCS have been rebutting many common stereotypes, proving that, in most cases, they are unsubstantiated and unproven. The project also aimed to provide local people with knowledge on both the history and culture of Eastern European countries to try and reduce ‘hate’ and prejudice.

The ‘Abate the Hate’ project also aims to help by raising money for Boston More in Common, a local organisation working towards the seamless integration of all cultures and ethnicities. A dedicated committee of European representatives have partnered with Lambeth More in Common to try and bridge the gap between different cultures and ethnicities in their areas.

As a way of supporting this essential scheme, we will be holding a few fundraising events over the next week:

Tuesday 6th August (10am-4pm) – Tombola and other games such as Guess the Name of the Teddy at Boston Stump

Wednesday 7th August (8:30am-3:30pm) – Bake sale at Boston Market. Our stall will feature a range of sweet treats from across the world, including Pakistan, Russia, and Lithuania.

We are hoping to make an impact on the Boston community and lead the charge in the campaign to stop hate.